Every Rose Has Its Thorn
by row6773
Summary: Was it something I said or something I did / Did the words not come out right / Though I tried not to hurt you / Though I tried / But I guess that's why they say / Every rose has its thorn. Dean is feeling the strain of hunting. He's none too gentle with a certain angel's feelings, and things get...complicated. Named after the song "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by Poison.
1. Chapter 1

*****Hey guys! This is my first Supernatural story. It's a work in progress, but I'm not sure how good it is. Please comment with questions, concerns, and most importantly tell me if you want me to write another chapter. Also, do you guys like song recs? My rec for this chapter is Hard Life by Eddie Money. Enjoy!*****

Cas was staring at him again. Dean considered himself fairly confident (Sam considered him overly confident), but Cas's continual staring was beginning to make him uncomfortable. Dean shot him an annoyed glance. The angel simply narrowed his eyes and tilted his head.

"Friggin' angels," Dean growled under his breath. He took an especially large gulp of his whiskey and slammed the glass down. Sam looked up from his dusty lore book.

"Everything okay?"

"Peachy," Dean answered shortly, glaring at Cas. The angel shifted on his feet. "Look, Cas, do you even know anything about Furies, or are you just gonna stand there all day?" Dean asked, flipping through a nearby book and avoiding Cas's gaze. Sam shot him a nasty look. Dean rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the book.

"They're ancient, that's about all I know," the angel said, moving from his spot near the fire to pace the room. He was either oblivious to Dean's sharp tone or electing to ignore it. Based on his clenched fists, Dean guessed the latter.

"Well that's great," Dean muttered sarcastically, giving up on the book and taking another gulp of whiskey. "The only one here who was even alive when the Furies were created has no idea what they are or how to kill them. You're real helpful, Cas." Cas glared at him.

"They're Greek monsters - not exactly my line of work, Dean."

"Whatever." Dean rubbed his eyes wearily and turned to Sam. "Got anything?" Sam shook his head.

"Nothing."

"Oh, great. Well this is _fantastic_. You know what, I'm so done with you two. Especially you." he pointed a finger at Cas, "What the hell is the point of being a goddamn angel if you don't _know_ anything." Cas narrowed his eyes.

"I know things that you couldn't even _dream_ of, Dean, so I'd watch your mouth if I were you." There was a rustle of wings and he was gone.

"Son of a bitch," Dean muttered. He rubbed his eyes again. He hadn't slept in nearly three days. When he looked up, Sam was glaring at him.

"Oh, not you too," Dean groaned. "Look, I get it, I'm being a dick. I'm tired, and half-drunk, and we're no closer to figuring out how to gank these monsters. Just give me a break, Sam." Sam leaned forward.

"You know what, Dean? I'd like to. I really would. But with this job, you don't get a break. You don't get to have a bad day, because people are _dying_ out there and they need us. So suck it up, Dean." Sam heaved a sigh and punctuated his lecture by tossing Dean a heavy mythology book. Dean caught it with a grunt. He opened it and stared at the pages for a while, thinking about what Sam had said.

"You're right," he said after a while. Sam looked up, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I mean, I hate to admit it," he spread his arms and smiled sheepishly, "but you're right." Sam sighed.

"Wish I wasn't."

"Yeah, me too." Dean stood up. "I'm gonna go see if I can find Cas." He left the room and strode out the back door. He started to pace along the rows of old cars and began his prayer to Cas,

"Castiel, who art God knows where and probably pissed at me, get your feathery ass over here so we can talk."

 *****So...what do you guys think? I edited as of 11/28/2017 and I'm much happier with this draft. I know it's shorter, but I feel like it's better quality, and the subsequent chapters will be longer. Dean is much more in character and his relationship with Cas is unfolding slower so I can add more details and make it really good. I'll probably add another chapter soon if you guys want.*****


	2. Chapter 2

*****Hey guys! Here's Chapter 2, up and running! If you have questions, concerns, criticisms, or anything else, please leave a review or pm me. Oh, and the song rec for this chapter is Come As You Are by Nirvana. (Side note on the song recs - I kind of want to keep it SPN themed so I want to do a bunch of classic rock which means a lot of the recs will be taken from the SPN playlist. How do you guys feel about that?)*****

"Hello, Dean." Man, if Dean had a nickel for every time he'd heard that phrase. He'd stood in the yard for hours, yelling himself hoarse. Finally, after 40 minutes (yeah, okay, so it wasn't exactly _hours_ ) Cas showed up. By this time, Dean felt like flipping him off and forgetting the whole apology thing. But, despite what his brother thought, he did have some degree of self-control. That was how he found himself standing in front of the affronted angel, gearing up for a sappy apology. However, the angel was more upset than Dean had guessed.

"I don't have time for whatever you're about to say. I've found a way to kill the Fury." Cas didn't spare Dean another glance, striding past him into the house. Dean stood in surprise for a moment, then shook himself and followed Cas, who was already speaking to Sam.

"...won't be easy, we'll have to go to the hospital and steal some, but -" he broke off as Dean entered. Sam was standing with a disgusted look on his face.

"Thanks for waiting on me, Cas," Dean muttered, throwing himself into a chair, "So what do we have to steal?" Sam turned to him, still sporting the revolted look.

"Blood. From, uh, _genitalia_ , apparently." Dean sat up.

"Excuse me?"

"Furies can be destroyed only by that which created them," Cas elaborated.

"And, um, how _exactly_ were they created?" Dean asked. He figured he was wearing a similar expression to Sam.

"According to the lore, the Titan Kronos castrated his dad Uranus and the drops of blood from the dude's dick basically created the Furies," Sam said.

"Dude, that is _so_ disgusting."

"Look, it doesn't matter how disgusting it is, we need to kill this monster before she kills the entire town," Cas stated, "I'll get the blood, you two find some iron stakes. We'll need to dip them in the blood."

"Wait, why don't I go get the blood and you go find the killer chick," Dean suggested, standing up.

"I can't. She's hidden from me. We'll have to rely on her killing pattern to find her. Shouldn't be too hard. She's targeting sinners." Dean rolled his eyes.

"Oh, yeah, why don't we go grab all the sinners in town - oh, wait, that would be the _whole damn town_. Great plan, Cas." The angel didn't answer him. Sam furrowed his brow.

"Why is she hidden from you, Cas?" Cas sighed.

"Furies are basically goddesses. I assume she's working some type of magic."

"Well, you're useless then." Dean muttered. He didn't really mean it, but it didn't matter at this point.

"I apologize if I'm _inconveniencing_ you," Cas answered sarcastically. There was a rustling sound of wings, and he was gone.

"I'm guessing the apology didn't go well," Sam observed.

"You think?" Dean growled. "Son of a bitch."

/

When Cas didn't reappear, they started to worry. It was about ten minutes later when he flashed back into Bobby's living room, soaked in blood.

"Cas!" Dean and Sam sprang forward together. Cas held up a hand.

"Don't worry, it's not mine." He snapped his fingers and the blood disappeared.

"What the hell happened?" Dean demanded.

"I, um, may have had a slight incident with the patient."

"Wait, wait, wait." Dean held up a hand and tilted his head accusingly, "Are you telling me that you took the blood directly from a living, breathing _person_? From his -" Dean gestured at his crotch.

"Dean," Cas sighed, "We don't have time for this. They don't exactly keep jars of genitalia blood in stock. He was asleep, it was fine. Well," he shrugged, "he _was_ asleep. He woke up and started knocking things over and yelling -"

"Yeah, dude got his dick cut open. I don't really blame him," Dean grumbled. Cas ignored him.

"Anyway, I got the blood." He held up an opaque jar.

"And the guy?" Sam asked.

"He doesn't remember anything."

"Okay, first of all, you are _never_ going on an errand without supervision again," Dean began, wincing slightly at the thought of Cas's "errand", "Second -" Cas cut him off, glaring.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to try to find the Fury." Before Dean could protest, the angel disappeared again. Sam cleared his throat.

"Can't shut your big mouth, can you, Dean?"

"Shut up, Sam."

/

Cas called Sam half an hour later (Dean slapped himself mentally for being ever so slightly jealous that the angel hadn't called _him_ instead). He gave them the address of the Fury's lair and wished them luck.

"Whoa, where are you going?" Dean asked, leaning towards the phone.

"I have other things to do, Dean. I'll 'check back in'," Dean could practically hear the air quotes, "in a few days."

"Thanks, Cas. Call us if you need us," Sam said, moving to hang up. Dean hurriedly added,

"Be safe, Cas." The line clicked. Sam gave Dean an odd look. Dean pretended not to notice. "Got everything, Sammy? Let's go."

 *****So that's it for this chapter! While writing, I realized you guys are probably wondering where Bobby is, since the boys are at his house but there's no mention of him. He's gone on a job tracking a vampire nest. He may be back in later chapters. Do you guys want to see Bobby in this story, or should I make it all about Destiel? LMK! Also, I know this is kinda a slow burn, but I promise there will be some legit Destiel action in the next chapter :)*****


	3. Chapter 3

*****Heyyy :) Here's Chapter 3 for you guys. Song rec is Dancing in the Dark by Bruce Springsteen (I love it so much) Hope you guys enjoy and don't forget to review!*****

Once they located the Fury, she was fairly easy to take out. Well, that is, after she broke Dean's hand. Sam had ganked her pretty quickly after that. Dean spewed curses all the way to the hospital, with Sam struggling between laughing and worrying. The nurses had to sedate Dean in order to set his hand in a cast. He was still out of it when Cas showed up.

"Hey, Cas," Sam said, getting out of his chair with a surprised expression on his face, "I know you're busy, I didn't mean you had to come over, I just figured you'd want to know."

"Thank you for calling me." Cas strode over to Dean and lay a hand on the latter's forehead. Dean's eyes opened lazily.

"Heya, Cas," he murmured groggily, reaching up to grab Cas's hand.

"Hello, Dean. How are you feeling?" Cas gently pulled his hand away.

"'M fine. Did you fix my hand?"

"Yes."

"Thanks, Cas." Cas nodded. It was quiet in the room for a minute. Then, Sam's phone rang. He answered quickly,

"Hey, Bobby...Yeah...No, he's fine, Cas healed him...Really? You okay?...Okay...Yeah...Yep, I'll be there...Okay, bye." Sam hung up. Cas and Dean were both watching him in curiosity.

"What's up?" asked Dean, shifting in the bed.

"Bobby's having some trouble with that vamp nest in Oklahoma. Apparently the hunter he was with just bailed on him and he's stuck down there without backup. I'm gonna head down ASAP."

"Hold on, _you_? As in _just_ you? I don't think so." Dean stood up. "I'm coming with you." Sam rolled his eyes.

"Dean, I'll be fine. Anyway, you and Cas should stay here, wait for the other Furies. I mean, according to the lore, if one of them dies, the other two show up. We've got to kill them all if we want to avoid being hunted for the rest of our lives."

"I don't give a crap about the damn lore, Sam, I don't want you to go alone."

"Dean, I'm a big boy, I can handle this." A sharp edge had crept into Sam's voice. Cas was standing between them, looking back and forth, seemingly amused.

"Dean, Sam's right," he said before Dean could retort. "We need to stay here." Dean clenched his fists.

"I don't want - " Before he could finish his sentence, Cas had grabbed Sam's shoulder and they both disappeared.

/

Dean had checked himself out of the hospital and drove back to Bobby's, thoroughly pissed. Cas was standing in the kitchen when he walked in. Dean acknowledged him with a curt nod, and edged past him to grab a beer from the fridge. He grabbed a bag from the study and was heading back out the door when Cas spoke.

"Where are you going?"

"To help Sam and Bobby out," Dean snapped, "I don't suppose you'd like to help me out." Cas grimaced.

"I-" he stopped, pausing to listen for something that Dean couldn't hear.

"Wha-" Dean stopped at Cas's upraised hand.

"They're here," the angel murmured, "I'm going to go surprise them." Dean heard his wings fluttered, but Cas remained in sight.

"What's going on?" Dean asked.

"I don't know. I can't fly." Cas's face screwed up in concentration, and Dean couldn't help but notice how _adorable_ that was. For a second. Then he shook himself.

"Let's try it the human way, shall we?" He marched to the door and turned the handle. The door didn't budge.

"You were saying?"

"Shut up, Cas." They tested every exit - all sealed. Without his powers, Cas seemed suddenly less sure of himself.

"What do we do?"

"I guess we'll hole up in the panic room until the bitches show themselves."

/

Hole up they did. It took less than an hour for Dean to get restless and start pacing. Cas sat on a cot resignedly, watching Dean.

"Does that help?"

"No, Cas, it doesn't, but I'm pissed, and I have nothing to do," Dean snapped, but he stopped pacing.

He spent the next hour cleaning his guns and sharpening stakes. Cas had returned to his place on the cot. Dean tossed him sidelong glances every once in a while. Finally, he set down the stake he was holding.

"Cas, I never got a chance earlier, but I wanted to, uh, apologize for being a dick to you. It's been a rough couple days. 'Course that's not an excuse, but still..." Cas regarded him for a moment through those beautiful - _wait, beautiful_ _?_ \- blue eyes.

"I don't blame you, Dean. You have had too much weight placed on your shoulders for one man to bear. I wouldn't expect you to be anywhere close to fine. You don't have to apologize."

"I-I really do, Cas," Dean sat down next to the angel. "I just - I take it out on you a lot, and I don't know why because God knows I lo- care about you a lot." Dean was blushing slightly from his slip of tongue, but watched Cas's reaction closely.

"I...suppose..." Cas was actually _smirking,_ that son of a bitch, "I care about you too." Suddenly the room was too hot and Dean was sitting far too close to Cas and he needed to get out, clear his head, stuff it all down and pretend it had never happened. Cas never gave him the chance. The angel leaned forward and closed the gap between them. When their lips met, Dean felt like his head would explode. Instead of jerking away, as he might have expected of himself, he deepened the kiss, running his hands up to the back of Cas's head and tugging on his hair. Cas moaned softly and pulled Dean closer. Dean's brain was screaming "Stop!" and his body was yelling "Don't you dare!" Cas pushed him down on the bed and his brain shut off. His senses were heightened - he could feel every inch of Cas's body on top of him, pinning him to the cot, devouring his mouth like it was dessert. When neither of them could breath anymore, Cas allowed his mouth to travel down Dean's jaw to his neck, nipping and kissing the sensitive skin. Dean's was more sensitive than most. He threw his head back and groaned loudly, tightening his grip on Cas's back. He willed time to stop. Alas, that was not meant to be. Both of them jumped at the sound of a loud crash in the room above. Dean sat up quickly, jostling Cas to the ground. They both scrambled for the blood dipped stakes on the table. A hissing sound came from behind the iron door and suddenly it flew inwards. Dean and Cas jumped out of its track. In the doorway stood a humanoid figure with a dog's head and a woman's body. She was holding a long, sinister looking whip.

"Time to die, boys," she hissed in a harsh, grating voice. She lunged. Dean sprang out of the way and lunged behind her, stabbing at her back. He missed and her whip caught him on the cheek, tearing it open nearly to the bone. His cry was nearly inhuman.

"Dean!" Cas yelled, panic written across his face. The Fury advanced, twisting her whip menacingly. Cas turned his attention back to her. She stepped forward, he stepped back, circling slowly. Behind her, Dean had recovered his stake. Cas faked a lunge and she drew back - directly into Dean's stake. Dean stepped away and allowed the body to fall. Cas looked him over anxiously.

"Are you -" Before he could finish, a shrieking wail sounded behind them and they turned to face the last Fury. She was larger than the previous two, and she held a thicker whip, lashing it on the floor. _Crack!_ Cas jumped to avoid its wicked tongue. _Swish!_ It caught Dean by the ankles and he fell to the floor, groaning. Cas darted in front of him as the whip came swooshing down. He caught the blow with his left arm, which immediately went limp, blood soaking through his trench coat. The Fury cackled and advanced.

"Cas." Dean was still on the floor, breathing shallowly. Cas looked down. Dean handed him a stake. In an inhumanly fast movement, Cas grabbed the stake and threw it directly into the Fury's heart. She stopped and fell dead in her tracks. As she fell, both bodies began to smoke, and dark purple flames rose from their chests. Cas turned back to Dean and grabbed his hand. With the angel's powers restored, by the time Dean was standing he was healed.

"Thanks, Cas." Cas pulled him in for a desperate kiss. Dean stiffened. Cas pulled away and stroked Dean's face with one hand.

"Are you alright? Am I hurting you?"

"Cas, I -" Dean watched as Cas's eyes filled with confusion. "I'm fine, Cas. Give me a sec, k?"


	4. Chapter 4

*****Here's Chapter 4! Just a warning, this chapter is M rated and contains sex. Skip if you don't want to read that kind of stuff. Song rec is Feel Like Makin' Love by Bad Company. Enjoy! (and don't forget to review :) thanks lovelies)*****

A "sec" turned into an hour spent under hot water as Dean tried to collect his thoughts while scrubbing monster ash off of his skin. He knew he could've just asked Cas to clean him up, but being near the angel right now made his head spin and he really needed to think through this new aspect of their relationship, preferably without being distracted by an erection and Cas's soft moans. Dean glanced down. Well, the erection was still a problem. He'd attempted to ignore it, to push Cas out of his thoughts, but every time he let his mind wander it came back to their moment in the panic room, Cas pressing down on him, kissing his neck. Dean groaned quietly. It felt wrong, jacking off to the angel downstairs, the one with whom he shared a psychic bond and who probably could hear everything that he was doing, but Dean was past the point of caring. He jacked off at a quick pace, Cas's name tumbling from his lips as he came. He really hoped Cas didn't have his angelic radar on. Dean finished his shower and dressed, then made his way downstairs. Cas was in the living room, watching TV. He looked up when Dean entered.

"I hope your shower was long enough." Dean raised his eyebrows as he sat down. He'd strategically chosen the chair farthest from Cas's place on the couch.

"Are all angels as sarcastic as you?" Cas snorted.

"I think that's an idiosyncrasy of mine." Dean grinned, and before he could stop himself, he said,

"I like it."

"Do you?" The angel's voice dropped lower and he leaned forward slightly, pupils dilating. Dean took a deep breath, trying to regulate his heart beat.

"Yeah, you know, it makes you different. I don't know," he shrugged in an attempt to look nonchalant, "So what are you watching?" He turned his attention to the TV. The screen went black.

"It doesn't matter." Dean's eyes flickered back over to Cas and he couldn't help but moan softly at how _desirable_ the angel looked. Cas stood up. "As I remember, we have some unfinished business that requires my attention."

/

He strode purposefully over to Dean's chair and offered him a hand. Against his better judgement, Dean took it. The angel pulled him out of his chair rather forcefully and backed him in to the nearest wall.

"God, Cas," Dean whispered, lifting a hand to trace the angel's face, desire heavy in his voice. "How are you so perfect?"

"I'm an angel of the Lord." With that, Cas captured Dean's lips. Dean had never considered himself a submissive type - he was always the one initiating sex, always the smooth talker, the one that always got exactly what he wanted. But now, as Cas pressed him against the wall, lifting his hands above his head, taking exactly what he, Cas, wanted, Dean found himself adapting very well to his new role. Cas had him moaning and thrashing his head against the wall as he kissed down Dean's neck. When he glanced up at Dean, the latter struggled to form a sentence.

"Cas...need...please...my hands...wanna touch you." Cas let go of Dean's hands, one of which immediately flew to the angel's hair, the other grabbing his shoulder. Cas kissed him on the lips again, slipping his tongue in between Dean's teeth. Dean tugged at the angel's hair desperately as waves of desire washed over him. Cas groaned into his mouth. Dean allowed his hands to wander to Cas's trench coat, tugging it over his shoulders and dropping it to the ground. He grabbed Cas's tie and used it to pull the angel even closer, causing Cas to moan louder and attack Dean's lips with renewed fervor. His fingers wear working at Dean's flannel, finally undoing the last button and tugging it off.

"Why...do you have to wear...so many...damn...layers?" Cas asked between quick, desperate kisses. He broke away for a minute to pull Dean's T-shirt over his head.

"Says the guy that wears the trench coat," Dean retorted, unbuttoning Cas's shirt and tossing it onto the growing pile of clothes. Cas didn't answer. He pulled away from Dean slightly, pupils blown wide, breathing heavily.

"Take off your pants, now." That sentence went straight to Dean's dick. He scrambled out of his jeans, relieving some of the pressure on his erection. Cas's eyes raked over his body. Dean was leaning back against the wall for support, panting, watching Cas through hooded eyes. Cas kissed him again with such force that Dean gasped and closed his eyes, willing himself not to come right then and there. When he opened his eyes again, he realized that Cas had flown them to Dean's bedroom. Their clothes lay in a heap on the chair by the window. Dean found himself on his back beneath Cas, who was kneeling between Dean's legs, leaning over him and supporting himself with his hands to either side of Dean's head. Dean's grip on Cas's back tightened and his nails dug in to the soft skin between the angel's shoulder blades. When Cas pulled back to take a breath, resting his forehead on Dean's, Dean met his eyes.

"Cas?"

"Mmm."

"I want you to take me, right now." Cas made a noise deep in his throat, a distinctly _non-angelic_ noise, and kissed Dean again. When he pulled back again, it was to pull off his boxers and Dean's.

"I think," Dean licked his lips, eyes taking in Cas's body, "I think there's some lube in my night stand." Cas started to reach over, then rethought his actions and snapped his fingers. The lube appeared on the bed next to him. He coated his fingers in it and brought them to Dean's entrance, tracing a light circle before plunging in. Dean's hips bucked up and he moaned loudly. The angel paused, looking him over.

"Are you -"

"I'm fine, Cas, just move, dammit." Cas resumed his ministrations, curling and scissoring his fingers inside Dean. Dean grabbed Cas's back tightly.

"Now, Cas," he growled urgently. In an instant, Cas pulled his fingers out and replaced them with his dick. Dean almost screamed, the pleasure was so intense.

"Yes, Cas, that's right, Cas, Cas," he moaned, bucking his hips. Cas started to thrust, holding Dean's hips down firmly.

"You're...so...beautiful," he gasped, kissing and nipping at Dean's neck. Dean could only moan in answer. His brain had completely shut off. As Dean felt his toes start to curl and that shakiness in his stomach, Cas reached in between their joined bodies and pumped his hand up and down Dean's dick. Dean's eyes flew shut, his head hitting the bed hard, and he came almost immediately. Cas followed him, chanting his name and something in Enochian. The angel collapsed on top of Dean, panting. Dean instinctively wrapped his arms around Cas, pressing his lips to the angel's shoulder.

/

"Where did you learn all that?" Dean asked, tracing Cas's collarbone. Cas rolled off of him onto his side.

"Well, I _am_ extremely old." Dean laughed.

"Do angels even have sex?" Cas raised his eyebrows and gestured at the two of them.

"What do you think that was?"

"You know what I mean." Cas tilted his head.

"Angels...mate, but it's not sex, per say. It's more of a bond. Mates protect each other at all costs. And they take care of each other. Clean each other up after battle, help each other preen." Dean laughed again.

"Makes you sound like birds." His expression suddenly turned serious. "Do you have a mate?" Cas shook his head.

"I'm not exactly what you would call 'normal' amongst the angels. I'm...too different to be considered desirable, I suppose." Dean snorted.

"Well that's bullshit." Cas regarded him tenderly. It was quiet for a while. They lay together, limbs entangled, still naked and slightly sweaty. Dean was clinging on to his post-orgasm high, trying desperately not to _think_.

"So, who takes care of you?" Dean asked suddenly, shifting onto his elbow to face Cas. The angel opened his eyes.

"No one."

"What about...preening...and all that?"

"I make do," the angel answered simply.

"Let me see them," Dean said. Cas tilted his head confusedly.

"See what?"

"Your wings, dude. I can help you...preen, or whatever." Cas shifted uncomfortably.

"Dean, my wings, they're very sensitive. Preening is a very...intimate...act amongst angels." Dean threw his head back and chuckled. Cas gave him a confused look.

"You're willing to screw my brains out but you don't want me to help you clean your wings? Come on, Cas." The angel ducked his head.

"It's not that. It's just...I suppose I'm embarrassed." That wasn't what Dean expected.

"Embarrassed?"

"My wings, they're not...they're not very magnificent, right now. I haven't groomed them in a while. They - I don't want your first impression of them to be bad." Dean contemplated this with some amusement. He'd seen Cas drunk, naked, out of control, crying, and in about any other embarrassing situation he could think of.

"Look, man, you don't have to show me your wings if you don't want to. But I want to help you. I guess...I guess I want to repay you." Cas narrowed his eyes and cocked his head.

"For what?"

"For," Dean laughed uncomfortably, "for the best sex of my life, I guess." Cas stared at him for a minute. Then, slowly, his wings appeared, rustling as they unfolded from his back.


	5. Chapter 5

*****Here's Chapter 5, folks! (Rated T+) How are you guys liking the story so far? Do you think Dean and Cas should continue their relationship, or do you want more angst/conflict? Song rec for this chapter is Road to Nowhere by Ozzy Osbourne.*****

Cas's wings were perfectly black and at least seven feet long. Cas was right - they were battle-scarred and drooping slightly. Some of the feathers were matted and sticking out at odd angles. Dean gasped slightly and looked at Cas.

"They're black." Cas nodded slightly, looking disconcerted.

"Yes."

"I guess I always thought they'd be all white and fluffy, like," Dean chuckled, "like Renaissance paintings or something. I don't know. I like black better."

"They're meant to be a sign of disobedience," Cas said, closing his eyes. Dean chuckled, running a cautious hand through his flight feathers.

"I like them even more, then." He withdrew his fingers from the wings. There was something sticky in them. Dean was pretty sure it was blood. "How do you want me to groom them?" Cas propped himself up on his elbows. His wings fluttered open slightly.

"Start at the tips," he gestured to the long flight feathers that tapered to a point, trailing over the end of the bed, "and just, smooth them down, I suppose. The broken feathers will fall out once you start grooming them. If you could get some warm water and soap, you can clean the dirt off. There's probably some blood as well. Once you've done that, I'll show you how to oil them." Dean got out of bed.

"Just a sec." He pulled on his boxers and jeans, and headed downstairs to get some water and soap.

/

When he returned, Cas was lying on his stomach, obsidian wings draping over his trouser-clad legs and the bed, trailing nearly to the floor over the foot of the bed. The dark wings contrasted sharply with the pale skin of his bare back. Dean's breath hitched in his throat at the beauty of the sight.

"Are you going to stand there all day?" came Cas's muffled voice. He raised his head slightly from the bed. Dean shook himself and walked to the edge of the bed. He set the bowl of water next to Cas's head.

"Hold on to that, would you?" Cas held it with one hand, tilting his head over so he could see Dean. Dean started on the tips of the wings, rubbing a sodden towel over them, knocking out stray feathers and smoothing those that remained. As he moved up the wings, he began to fall into a rhythm, plucking, smoothing, and washing. It was addicting, those beautiful onyx feathers twitching very slightly beneath his fingers. When Dean had cleaned the bottom half of both wings, he changed his position. He had been crouching on the ground, moving back and forth between the wings, but now the feathers were lying on the bed, spread on either side of Cas, impossible to clean from his position. Dean stood up and glanced at Cas's face. It was calm, but his blue eyes were alert, watching Dean closely. Dean placed a hand beneath the wing on the other side of the bed and gently lifted himself to straddle Cas's back. The angel tensed, then relaxed as Dean leaned forward and placed a kiss in between his shoulder blades. He wasn't quite sure where this tender side of him was coming from, but it didn't matter at the moment. He was still determinedly _not thinking_. Dean pulled away to continue his grooming. Finally, he reached the peaks of the wings, where crests of short, fine feathers lay. They trembled slightly as Dean reached out to touch them. Cas made a small noise beneath him.

"Am I hurting you?" Dean asked, pulling his fingers away.

"No." Cas's voice was low again. Dean recognized that tone.

"You like that, huh?" He murmured, tugging gently on the feathers on the right wing. Cas moaned in answer. Dean took special care with these ultra-sensitive feathers, rubbing each individually with the soapy towel. It was having quite an effect on Cas, who was practically writhing underneath Dean, gasping and moaning softly.

"What are they called?" Dean asked, cleaning the last delicate feather.

"A - a," Cas was panting, "S - sorry. They're called alula." Dean traced his index finger along the bony crest.

"Very good to know, Cas," he said lowly, leaning forward to murmur in Cas's ear. The angel shuddered.

/

Dean continued his grooming until he reached the base of each wing. Located beneath the first layer of feathers on each side was a small, featherless nub. Dean ran a finger over one experimentally. As he expected, the angel thrashed under him, making a pleasured noise. What he didn't expect was the oil that coated his fingers when he pulled away. It was woody-smelling and waxy, resisting Dean's attempts to clean it off with his towel.

"I'm assuming this is the oil you were talking about," Dean mused, flicking his finger over the fleshy nub once more. Cas groaned into the sheets.

"Are you trying to torture me?" came his voice, husky and breathless.

"Maybe." Cas raised his head a bit.

"Use the oil to coat the feathers," he instructed, "Gently," he bit out, as Dean gathered some oil on his fingers, brushing over the gland. Dean grinned. He made sure to coat each feather with the oil, returning to the sensitive spot often to renew his supply. Cas was falling to pieces underneath him. Finally, Dean stopped to appraise his work. The feathers were gleaming in the light filtering in from the window. They were lying flat, save for the occasional spasm caused by Cas's panting. Dean leaned forward to speak in Cas's ear again.

"All done." Cas sat up faster than humanly possible, jostling Dean off of his back, twisting so that they were face to face. He attacked Dean's lips ferociously, running his hands through Dean's hair and tugging fiercely. His wings were arched protectively around Dean, feathers brushing his bare chest. Damn, if that wasn't the most arousing thing. Dean growled, and pushed against Cas's lips, fighting for dominance with his tongue. The sudden pressure off-put their balance and they fell back on the bed, rolling over each other. It was nearly animalistic, the way they were wrestling for control, the kiss a flurry of teeth and tongue and lips and feathers. A particularly fierce push for control knocked both of them off the bed. One of Cas's wings hit the nightstand and knocked everything off. Dean grinned into the kiss, hands reaching around to grip the base of the wings, causing Cas to throw his head back and moan. Dean moved his lips downwards, desperate to touch, to taste, to _feel_ every inch of his angel, who was currently making the most beautiful noises beneath him. Dean had progressed as far as Cas's navel when Cas suddenly murmured,

"I think someone's here." Dean paused, his lips still pressed against the angel's stomach. Sure enough, he heard the kitchen door opening below, and a familiar voice calling,

"Dean?"


	6. Chapter 6

*****Chapter 6 already! This one's rated T+. Song rec for this chapter is Slow Ride by Foghat. Please review!*****

Dean sat up slowly, eyes darting between the door and the angel beneath him. Sam was calling again.

"Dean? You here?" Dean met Cas's eyes.

"I'm here, Sam, give me a sec." Dean stood up and scrambled to pull on a T-shirt. Cas got up slowly, still breathing heavily.

"I'll be back later," he muttered, grabbing his discarded clothes. Before Dean could say anything, he was gone. Dean ran down the stairs, pulling on his flannel.

"Hey, Sammy," he called. A door opened to his left and Sam came up from the basement.

"What the hell happened down there?" Dean relayed the events of the day. Well, the important ones. He sort of left out the parts involving him and Cas naked in bed.

"So where's Cas now?" Sam asked as they walked into the study.

"No idea. He said he had somewhere to be," Dean answered honestly. "Wanna beer?" He grabbed them each a beer and came to sit down across the desk from Sam.

"Bobby's on a supply run. We think we've found a coven of witches in Des Moines," Sam said, sliding a newspaper over to Dean.

"Oh, come on," Dean groaned, "I hate witches." He scanned the paper. Three people dead in a week. Sam leaned over.

"I did some digging, and all of them worked at the same office building." Dean looked up, tossing the newspaper aside.

"Cause of death?"

"Apparently the woman died from severe internal burning from, get this, her morning _coffee_. One of the guys bit off his tongue and drowned in his own blood. And the last guy contracted a stomach ulcer, which his doctor had never seen prior to his autopsy." Dean raised his eyebrows and took a sip of his coffee.

"Definitely sounds witchy." He sighed. "God I hate witches. Anything else?" Sam shook his head.

"I don't have any other leads."

"Okay." Dean rubbed his eyes. "We'll hit the road when Bobby gets back." The back door creaked open, and Dean turned around. "Speak of the devil."

/

After replenishing their supply of salt and bullets, Sam and Dean loaded up the Impala and started for San Francisco. Dean drove, still fighting the urge to think about Cas, and what they had done. Eventually, Sam fell asleep and Dean couldn't avoid his thoughts anymore. He thought about Cas, how the angel had taken him like it was the most natural thing in the world. He'd _enjoyed_ it, loved every second of it. He hadn't been lying about it being the best sex of his life. It was just...complicated. Sleeping with Cas was one thing, but Dean knew both of their feelings ran deeper than that. It couldn't be casual and that made it worse. Dean had far too many enemies to risk having another loved one to worry about. Of course, that loved one was an incredibly powerful supernatural being, but still. Flashbacks came flooding, unbidden, into Dean's head. Cas, exploding to bits at the snap of Michael's fingers. Cas, being torn apart from the inside by Leviathans. Everyone Dean loved got hurt. Had Dean not interfered, Cas would still be a soldier of Heaven. As it were, the angel was pretty much banished. Dean sighed. No, loving Cas wasn't a good thing. He'd known for a while that the angel loved him. He'd tried to ignore it for the first year or so. It had gotten difficult. It's hard not to fall in love with someone who saves your life multiple times and pisses off the entirety of Heaven, and is still clueless about how to use a phone. If Dean was being honest with himself, it was just a matter of time before he gave in to his attraction. Even if he'd held out another year, they would've still ended up in bed at some point. Dean pretty much had two options now. He could give in, throw caution to the wind and he and Cas would ride off into the sunset, or he could pretend this day never happened, and continue with his life. At two in the morning, when Dean pulled in to a motel parking lot in some town off the interstate, he'd made up his mind.

/

Once they checked into their room, Sam went to bed and Dean headed to the bar across the street. He desperately needed a drink. The bar was noisy and full of drunks. Good. Maybe it'd be loud enough to drown out the pounding in his head. He ordered a couple of rounds of whiskey, just until he felt a comfortable buzz. The bartender was hot, and Dean flirted with her shamelessly. He'd just secured her number and a wink when suddenly, he wasn't in the bar anymore. He was in an empty motel room, and a familiar angel was standing in front of him.

"Hello, Dean."

"Hey, Cas." Dean shook his head, trying to clear it. "What's up? How did you find me?"

"Sam called. He said you were acting odd and wanted me to check on you."

"Huh." Dean leaned against the wall. "Well, I'm fine. I don't need a babysitter. I don't know why Sam didn't just ask me himself- "

"Because you would have lied to him, too, and he's not strong enough to force it out of you." The angel advanced until he was a few inches from Dean's face. Dean was perfectly still, save the rapid rise and fall of his chest. Cas grabbed Dean's wrists and pushed them up to either side of his head. "So, I'll ask again," the angel murmured, hot breath tickling Dean's face, "what's going on?" Dean swallowed thickly.

"I made a decision that I'm really regretting right about now." Cas tilted his head, looking confused.

"Care to elaborate?"

"Not really," Dean muttered. Cas's grip on Dean's wrists tightened.

"I think you meant 'yes.'" Dean was practically panting now. His hips bucked involuntarily against Cas, but the angel moved so that his hips only met air.

"I- fine," Dean was far past controlling himself, "I- _God_ , Cas." The angel had loosened his grip on Dean and started kissing his neck. When Dean stopped, he paused and looked up at him with those innocent blue eyes.

"Please continue, Dean." Dean was so aroused he could hardly breathe.

"I - mm - I promised myself that - _Cas_ \- that I would break this off before you got hurt. _Goddammit, Cas,_ " he hissed. The angel bit him just below his jaw, and started sucking at the bruised skin. When he pulled away, he looked Dean straight in the eye.

"That was a stupid decision."

/

Cas didn't give Dean much of a choice, really. Dean had learned that when Cas wanted something, he took it. And he'd be damned if that didn't turn him on like crazy. The angel practically threw him onto the bed and started tearing off his clothes. With what sense he still had, Dean started unbuttoning Cas's shirt. Once it was off, the angel materialized his wings. Dean hissed and reached up to wind his fingers in the feathers. Cas attacked his lips with doubled passion, groaning into Dean's mouth.

"I agree," Dean panted, helping Cas with his pants, "Stupid decision. Won't happen again."


End file.
